Sheridan Road under construction for 1 month Devon to Thorndale

Construction just began on Sheridan Road, but it's already impacting North Side commuters.

For the next month, the city's department of Water Management is replacing nearly 3,000 feet of century old water mains from Devon to Thorndale on the city's North Side.

"It's going to take us longer to commute back and forth to where we want to go," Lonnie Adams said.

"We want to increase the volume of water that is being fed to this Area and were using duct wire which is more flexible and durable, but these are way past their life expectancy," Tom LaPorte, Chicago Department of Water Management, said.

More than 60,000 motorists use Sheridan Road every day. The westernmost lane will remain closed, and alternating lane closures will be used to alleviate the resulting traffic. During the morning rush: two southbound lanes and one northbound lane will be open; during the afternoon rush: two northbound lanes and one southern lane will be open.

Traffic officials suggest Broadway as an alternate route.

"Sheridan is going to be a difficult red once we get underway and during mid-day were going to have one lane in each direction, so thinking it through and taking your best route which is probably Broadway is going to be the best bet," LaPorte said.

The construction is expected to be complete by Labor Day. While commuters say they will likely have to allow more time to get to work.

"Right now I'm working up north at Northwestern University and I live south in Oak Lawn so it's not too easy to get here," Bill Demma said.